The evaluation of the effects of age, carbon dioxide concentration and cracks to the carbonation of concrete: A case of selected public schools in Bulacan and Manila

• Main Authors: Aguilar, Nel Jester S., Buday, Pedro John Rey V., Pedrosa, Juan Miguel P.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2017
• Subjects: Concrete; Building materials
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/7081
• Institution: De La Salle University

Infrastructure development is a vital component in encouraging a country's economic growth and in these infrastructures, concrete is the most widely used material because of its high compressive strength. Although concrete has high compressive strength, it is very weak when it comes to tensile strength which is solved by the introduction of steel reinforcement. Steel reinforcement improves the tensile strength of concrete but it is susceptible to problem like corrosion, specifically carbonation-induced corrosion. Carbonation is the process of carbon dioxide reacting with hydrated cement paste in pore water to reduce the natural alkalinity of concrete which results into corroding the steel reinforcement thus inducing cracks in the concrete. Carbonation is controlled by several factors but only some are significantly influential. Therefore, there is a need to determine the relationship of these factors to carbonation since structural integrity is important when it comes to infrastructures as safety and welfare of the people using it is the primary concern. In line with the foreseen problem, the objective of the study is to determine the relationship of each factor that affect the carbonation of concrete to its carbonation depth. The data that were obtained for the study came from different public schools in Manila and Bulacan. Using simple linear regression and multi linear regression, the relationship of each factor to the carbonation depth and how these factors contribute collectively to it was established. After considering the factors that may affect the carbonation of concrete which is age, width of cracks and carbon dioxide concentration, it is concluded from made linear regressions that age is the most dominant factor when it comes to determining the carbonation depth of a certain structure. Other factors such s width of cracks and carbon dioxide concentration doesn't have such significant effect compared to age.